The Arthur M. Anderson passes through the Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge Tuesday. The bridge, which had been in the up position since Sept. 10, reopened to traffic Friday.

The Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge in downtown Green Bay has reopened to traffic.

The city had announced on Wednesday that the bridge was expected to be reopened by today. It opened Friday.

The span, which connects Main Street to Dousman Street across the Fox River, carries an average of 18,000 cars a day. Since it was closed for repairs since Sept. 10, the bridge remained in the upright position, so boat traffic wasn't affected. But motorists and pedestrians had to find alternative routes across the river via the Walnut Street and Don Tilleman bridges.

The city contracted with Lunda Construction Co. of Black River Falls for $627,000 to repair the bridge's counterweight system, which uses about 100 tons of metal plates to open and close the bridge as needed. Corrosion has caused some plates to shift out of alignment, leading to several malfunctions in recent years.